One approach to the design and implementation of computer networks, particularly with regard to the development of client/server applications, includes designing client applications and client devices so that the majority of the heavily used resources are at a remote computing device, such as a centralized server, connected via network. These client devices generally have minimal memory, disk storage, and processor power, but are designed under the premise that most users connected to a powerful server do not need the additional processing power. With these client devices, the total cost of ownership is minimized, because of the reduced resources and because the clients can be centrally administered and updated from the server. As such, these client devices are suited for a network which can handle a significant number of devices. Client devices may also be equipped with screens or displays for providing information to users of the client devices. In such cases, drawing commands written directly to the display memory of the client devices can subsequently be shown on the displays.